Thursday, April 29, 2010

One fun thing to do is, scan the Hotel brochures and edit out pictures from them. There are usually interesting pictures in most all of them with views not ordinarily seen. Today's shots feature the 1967-69 brochure which displayed an array of wonderful, color pictures in and around the Disneyland Hotel. This brochure was issued just after the Tower Annex project in 1967 and folds out to huge proportions. It's one of my favorites.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Pictures of Walt Disney at the Disneyland Hotel have been hard to come by for me. I am sure there were many taken over the years but I have personally only seen six. Even rarer still are pictures of Walt with Jack or Bonita Wrather. I will keep digging and hopefully. more will turn up.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

1959 was possibly the biggest single year for growth at Disneyland with the addition of the Matterhorn, Submarine Voyage and Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System. In parallel, the Disneyland Hotel experienced its greatest single growth spurt from 1960 to 1962. The comparison shots below show the Hotel in 1960 with surrounding areas still mostly walnut and orange orchards. The last two Garden Structures were added in 1960 and that would be the end of the originally designed and planned for two-story guest accommodation units at the Hotel. Early concept art depicts many more two-story structures planned, including in the area of the Marina and Bonita Towers however, those never came to be. From that point on, guest rooms would be housed in tower buildings, the first of which starting construction in June of 1961,opening in June of 1962. Earlier in 1961, the Hotel added several golfing facilities including a nine hole course, driving range and mini-golf facility. A heliport with service to and from LAX was also added which got people traveling from far away to Disneyland and the Hotel much faster than driving.

By 1962, the Disneyland Hotel now had over 450 rooms, complete convention facilities, several restaurants, full shopping facilities, an Olympic size pool and its own exclusive transportation to Disneyland via the Monorail. These were exciting times for both Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel.

1960 Aerial

1962 Disneyland Area - Hotel section (enlarged below) is on the bottom right

Heliport, driving range, mini golf, nine-hole course and a new Tower Building in 1962 at the Disneyland Hotel

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The 1980's were a period of tremendous changes for the Disneyland Hotel. The Hotel struggled to keep pace with people's needs and changing tastes, its owner passed away in 1984 with new management immediatley following and then renewed efforts by Disney to purchase the Hotel with their eventual purchase in 1989. With all of these distractions, the Hotel still managed to create new amenities like Seaports of the Pacific, new bars, restaurants and lounges, a new beach and various other activities for its guests. The Hotel was a tourist destination in and of itself.

Seaports of the Pacific - A couple of shots of the Seaports of the Pacific at the Disneyland Hotel mid 1980's

Pavilion - The Pavilion Bar at the Marina, Disneyland Hotel 1980's

Papeete Beach - If I had you guess where this picture was taken, would you ever believe it was at the Disneyland Hotel?

Sunday, April 11, 2010

More shots from the late 80's in and around the Disneyland Hotel. The 1980's was an era I think not properly covered in our book Disneyland Hotel The Early Years 1954-1988 simply because we didn't have much information from the 80's. Believe it or not, 1950's stuff was much easier to get than 1980's material. The Hotel was under severe budget cuts and they didn't print as many brochures or pamphlets. I plan on covering the 80's much more with the addendums soon out.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Maybe the Disneyland Hotel was filled to capacity or maybe it was just too expensive, whatever the reason, many other lodging facilities both hotels and motels sprung up all around Disneyland. The Charter House was convenient for its location to Disneyland being right accross the street from it. Rooms here were typically $2-$3 a night cheaper than at the Disneyland Hotel and that was quite a bit of money back in 1962. The Monorial was in full operation by 1962 with its newest stop at the Disneyland Hotel and the Hotel experienced record attendance that year. Because of this, many folks probably enjoyed their vacation from the Charter House Hotel rather than the Disneyland Hotel. I want to also feature on this blog vintage pictures of other hotels and motels around Disneyland.

Located at 1700 Harbor Blvd.

1962-1963

Restaurant facility at the Charter House Hotel 1962

Main entrance to the Charter House Hotel with the Disneyland sign visible in the background.

Aerial overview of the location of the Charter House Hotel accross the street from the Disneyland entrance.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Excerpt from Palm Springs Magazine
Built in 1952 by oilman and movie mogul Jack Wrather and his actress wife Bonita Granville, the 22 room boutique hotel was a favorite hideaway for the socially well-connected couple's Hollywood friends, not the least of who were Lassie and Marilyn Monroe. Lassie, money-spinning star of Wrather's productions, had a private suite, it's not known which bungalow Marilyn preferred. The Wrathers had their own separate residence on the property.